We Soldier On

Ghostie’s success has had glitches. I often evangelize about the benefits of electric fence.

I also try to ease the pain of failure with the phrase, “cheaper than school.” Our kids have heard it a million times. While I’ve used some of my schooling in very profitable ways, the education behemoth sucks way more of our earnings than the mistakes we’ve made. Do a little balance sheet yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Experience, curiosity, and helpful friends win.

The New Zealanders invented modern electric fencing. If it’s unplugged it doesn’t hurt you like barbed wire does. While working for Louie and Joyce out in Montana, Louie often said that barbed wire was made for people, not animals. We built lots of fence, digging post holes by hand in rocks. Some of those holes were three feet across as we tried to find a way around the rocks. I think I bled more then than in my skateboarding days. And that’s a lot.

One day Dawn was on a walk on the road near a loose and small gauge wire. Earlier that day Ghostie had a calf about 100 yards downstream. They had made it up to where that loose wire crossed the ditch. Later on Dawn told me she had heard a calf holler like it had been shocked. Usually that means it learned.

I went to check on them and the calf was under the fence in the tall grass. I went back again after a while and it was still there. It had been long enough so I reached under and drug the calf out to be by his mom. He couldn’t stand up. I stood him up and he just stood there and didn’t suck.  We decided to load him in the Ranger, take him home, and try feeding or otherwise check why he seemed so dumb. After a few trips to the pasture and back we left him standing in a pen and went to the Municipal Band Concert. When we returned he was still standing. He didn’t know how to lie down.

Eventually, the calf died. We decided that the electric fence had damaged his brain. Having that wire so loose had allowed it to tangle on the calf rather than causing him to simply back off. The New Zealanders say Americans over-build and under-power. I still believe that and it saves a lot of labor building fences. But everything needs to be viewed as a complete package. And having tight wires was more necessary than I thought. We were heartbroken.

Last summer the calves were walking under the fence and into the road ditch like they were immune to the shock. It actually changed our lifestyle somewhat. The road isn’t busy and the calves always go back in with their moms after dark so there was little chance of them being hit. Doris, our blue heeler, loved it. We would take the Ranger down the road and when we got to the errant calves I'd say “Okay!” and Doris would jump out and put the calves back in. Great fun… for her.

We bought more wire in order to add one on the perimeter fence, thinking that might help. Well duh. As my machinery mentor, Tim Gansen, would say, “Read the book!” Apparently the ground rods had corroded, inhibiting soil contact. Thinking outside the box and reading the fencer instructions would have saved us a lot of trouble. We bought shiny new ground rods and when we had a calf out after that installation, that calf wouldn’t go within 10 feet of the wire.

Our neighbor was building a five-wire barbed wire fence and I told him two hot wires were just as good. I got pretty humble when we had calves out all the time. Then the discovery of the poor grounding proved me right.

All summer when we took the Ranger out to check cows Ghostie would run to us like we were bringing her baby back. Mistakes can really hurt. We learn.

Last year Ghostie had a healthy calf who seldom left her side.

Got something to add? Try a letter to the editor or just to me at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com.